Modern electrical networks are becoming increasingly complex as shown in patent FR2976415. They include an increasing proportion of variable production and distribution infrastructures close to saturation in front of constantly growing needs. The proportion of intermittent production of solar or wind origin for example is continuously growing in the energy mix of most countries engaged in a process of energy transition towards more renewable energy. However, the increase in the proportion provided by renewable energy sources having intermittent production in the energy mix beyond 30% requires increased flexibility of the electrical network, in particular, for controlling the reduction in consumed power and for balancing demand and the production of electrical energy at all times. The possibility of controlling the reduction, or even shedding, of consumption also increases the quality of service provided by avoiding having to generally offload parts of the network in the event of a lack of production having caused an unforeseen decrease in intermittent production or the occurrence of an incident affecting available power. Solutions like the one described in patent WO 2008017754 are known but are not fully satisfactory because they require sophisticated infrastructures as well as the measurement and transmission of consumption in the framework of centralized management.
This invention can be advantageously combined with the device for driving at least one subassembly capable of transforming electrical energy and of storing it in thermal form described in patent FR1400496 to provide a complete solution for improving the flexibility of an electrical network with the aim of balancing consumption and production of energy by acting on the power consumed in the appropriate direction.
This invention falls within the general framework of so-called “smart grids”.